Jack Ryan creators say the role could soon be played by a woman

John Krasinski, known for his parts in The Office US and horror film The Quiet Place, is the latest actor to play Jack Ryan.

01 September, 2018 03:57

The creators of the latest iteration of Tom Clancy’s classic character Jack Ryan have said the role could soon be played by a woman.

John Krasinski, star of the American version of The Office, portrays the former marine turned CIA officer in Amazon Prime’s reimagining of the series, following in the footsteps of Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin and Ben Affleck.

The character has appeared in films such as The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games and The Sum of All Fears.

John Krasinski is the latest actor to play Jack Ryan, following in the footsteps of Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin (PA Images on behalf of So TV)

Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland, who are the creators and executive producers of the Amazon Prime’s series which sees Ryan uncover a terrorist plot to attack the United States, did not rule out the role going to a female in the near future.

Speaking at the show’s premiere in Los Angeles, Cuse told the Press Association: “It’s a great idea. The one thing about the Jack Ryan franchise is that it’s a part that a lot of people have played and each person has brought something special to it and it would be cool to see a woman play Jack Ryan eventually.”

Roland added: “Sure. I think that could be great. We’ll have to do that one day.”

Clancy was an American novelist known for his espionage and political intrigue novels, mainly set during the Cold War.

Producers said John Krasinski was ‘perfect’ for the role of Jack Ryan (Ian West/PA)

For the Amazon Prime series, creators consulted former and current CIA operatives to make the programme as authentic as possible.

Krasinski, 38, said he was attracted to the role by the grounded nature of the character.

He said: “There’s something about a character that uses his brains and his instincts and tries to do good in the world. He doesn’t wear a cape and he doesn’t shoot things out of his hands and there’s something really admirable about that.

“I am the biggest fan of anti-hero shows from Breaking Bad to Homeland, all of these different characters. But it was really nice to get the opportunity to play a genuine good guy.

“A guy who is trying to do the right thing and finds out doing the right thing isn’t as easy as he thought it was.”